With the courts still processing hundreds of cases, as of noon on Wednesday the Ministry of Justice said 1,297 people had appeared before magistrates charged with riot-related offences, of which 772 had been remanded in custody.

The Ministry of Justice has ordered courts to publicise every detail of cases related to the riots which has never been done on such a scale.

According to the Guardian’s analysis, of the 1.7million cases which passed through magistrates courts last year, just 3.5% of defendants were remanded.

It found the vast majority of defendants were under 25, most between 11 and 17, and just a handful aged over 30.

Most of those in court were unemployed but a wide range of jobs were also represented, including those of teaching assistant, student, chef, accounts clerk and scaffolder.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Justice said: "Magistrates and judges are independent of Government.

"Their sentencing decisions are based on the individual circumstances of each case and offender. That is why different offenders may be given different sentences for what might appear to be similar crimes."

The increase in jail numbers has put added pressure on a prison population in England and Wales which is already at a record high of 86,608.

The Prison Governors Association insisted the situation did not pose a threat to anyone’s safety but disclosed that new and refurbished parts of prisons would have to be opened to cope with the sudden influx.

Harry Fletcher, of Napo, the probation officers’ union, said: “There are so many of them coming through the system, it is causing considerable problems.”

There has been criticism that the courts are being unnecessarily harsh.

One focus of such comments has been the case of Jordan Blackshaw and Perry Sutcliffe-Keenan, who tried and failed to organise riots using Facebook and were given four-year prison terms.

Plans to withdraw council housing from those convicted of riot-related offences have also generated firm opposition.

Della Collins told her son Jermaine’s solicitor that she could not offer her home as a bail address after politicians threatened to evict the families of rioters. She later told The Daily Telegraph that it was

“not fair” to take homes away and that the Government was out to “destroy people’s lives”.

Jermaine Collins, 19, appeared in court yesterday charged with violent disorder and threatening behaviour during an outbreak of trouble in Harrow Road, west London, on Aug 9.

His solicitor said his mother had been “keeping an eye on the news” and would not offer her address for possible bail.

Speaking from her end-of-terrace council house, which is surrounded by smart, privately- owned homes, Miss Collins said: “It’s not fair for them to take my house away.

“I have other children to look after. If I lose the house, I lose everything.

“I wasn’t involved in any of this – it has nothing to do with me. The Government does not give a damn about people like us – nobody does.”

Last week, David Cameron said: “For too long we’ve taken a too soft attitude towards people that loot and pillage their own community. If you do that you should lose your right to the sort of housing that you’ve had at subsidised rates.”